Saudi Arabia, US Plan to Promote Promising Sectors

Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi during his meetings on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi during his meetings on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia, US Plan to Promote Promising Sectors

Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi during his meetings on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi during his meetings on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi met with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in Washington on Thursday to discuss advancing bilateral trade relations.

Qasabi, who headed a delegation from the Kingdom, said the talks are part of both countries' keenness to increase coordination according to a joint action plan that can raise the commercial exchange opportunities in several promising economic sectors.

The targeted sectors include: building the green economy, strengthening the role of women in doing business, developing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and promoting innovation.

Later, the Saudi Minister met with the President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Reta Jo Lewis to discuss boosting the economic partnership.

The delegations also held bilateral meetings with several officials at the US Department of Commerce to enhance communication at all levels and reviewed the top reforms implemented to increase Saudi Arabia's competitiveness.

The Saudi delegates and US officials tackled bilateral ties and promising opportunities in hydrogen production and waste management, as well as promoting innovations through protecting intellectual property.

They addressed bolstering the knowledge economy based on artificial intelligence, cloud storage, data flow, developing SMEs, and women's role and participation in economic development.

The delegation included Governor of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) Saad al-Qasabi, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SIAP) Abdulaziz al-Suwailem, and representatives from several ministries, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monshaat), Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA), the General Authority for Foreign Trade, National Competitiveness Center (NCC), Saudi Aramco, and Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC).



Iranian Oil Tankers Using Forged Iraqi Documents, Iraqi Oil Minister Says

FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
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Iranian Oil Tankers Using Forged Iraqi Documents, Iraqi Oil Minister Says

FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo

Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has restored "maximum pressure" on Iran, reviving a policy that seeks to isolate the country from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenue in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon.

Abdel-Ghani was asked if he had received messages from the United States over the possibility that state oil marketer SOMO could be subject to sanctions itself over the violation of Iranian sanctions.

"We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," the oil minister said on state television late on Sunday, adding there had been no formal written communication.

"It turned out that these tankers were Iranian ... and were using forged Iraqi documents. We explained this to the relevant authorities with complete transparency and they also confirmed this."

The Iranian oil ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported in December that a sophisticated fuel oil smuggling network that some experts believe generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq in the past few years, including by using forged documentation.

SOMO sells crude exclusively to companies that own refineries and does not supply trading firms, Abdel-Ghani said, adding that several traders were behind the scheme.

"SOMO operates with full transparency and has committed no wrongdoing in the oil export process," he said.